Is Harmony Over? Logitech to Dump Remote Line

Home theater control is serious business

Apparently demand for DIY universal home theater remotes took a hit with the economy and everything else. Logitech, which acquired the startup remote company Harmony several years ago, announced yesterday that it wants to sell off that business along with its surveillance camera business.

Last fall Logitech launched its first new Harmony remote in two years, the Harmony Touch. At a time when every new product has its own control app, and app-based remotes (including Harmony’s own remote app) have become popular and inexpensive, the challenge of selling high-end remotes apparently has gotten too difficult to sustain.

We hope and assume the company will continue to support products currently on the market. Harmony’s database of control codes surely has value to some prospective buyers, so I don’t expect this will be the end of Harmony remotes.

Possibly one problem Harmony had is that it’s pretty-much stuck to an old model of IR control. So many of today’s devices now incorporate IP connection, and homeowners increasingly want to have their entertainment system integrated with other systems in the house, such as lighting. That’s a task that’s largely beyond the capability of a remote such as Harmony makes, but is possible with the more reliable control systems offered by companies like Control4, Crestron, URC,Savant, Elan and RTI. System like that require professional installation, but they also deliver professional results.